The graphic arts industry is already aware of apparatus and method for stacking bundles of sheets onto a pallet, that is, the so-called palletizing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,419,035 and 4,519,740, owned by the owner of the present invention, both show the stacking of bound bundles onto a pallet which is supported on a scissors table. Also, another example of palletizing is shown in an advertisement of a company CIVIEMME S.r.l., of Italy, per its advertisement filed herewith, but which only shows the lowering of a pallet while it is being loaded with bundles from above. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,617 shows the loading of kegs onto a pallet which is in the raised position, and the pallet is lowered while more kegs are placed thereon, and eventually the pallet with the kegs is lowered to a conveyor which moves the load to one side. German Pat. No. 2721675 also shows the loading of sheets onto a scissors table or the like by means of an overhead crane which deposits unbound sheets onto the table. British Pat. No. 595922 shows the lifting of a stack of sheets up to a feeder, and with the sheets resting on a support which is under the control or the lifting device. British Pat. No. 992487 shows an article stacker.
In all instances of the prior art, such as that mentioned above, there is no system whereby the bound stack of sheets are deposited onto a pallet which is lowered in accordance with the layering of the bundles on the pallet, and where the pallet is separately supported by a support means in addition to the elevator lift means or scissors table or the like. That is, the additional pallet support means utilized in this invention permits the filled pallet to be in the process of lowering and removal while at the same time the next pallet is already supported in position and is being loaded. As such, the present invention provides for a system, including apparatus and method, whereby high-speed palletizing is accomplished in that there is no delay or waiting time while one loaded pallet is being removed and before another pallet can be positioned for loading it.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for the system whereby a continuous movement of the bundles is possible, and there is no delay nor interruption in the removal of a loaded pallet while the next pallet is simply being retained in a position for loading it. The present invention provides for the continuous bundle movement and loading, and the loading is done at an elevated position and the pallet is then lowered while another pallet is placed in the elevated position and is being loaded while the previous pallet with its load is being removed.
In general, the present invention provides for a system, including method and apparatus, for the continuous flow of bundles of sheets from a printing press to a pallet, including the stacking, strapping, and movement from those locations and onto a pallet. The accomplishment of this object also includes the automatic positioning of each successive pallet at the elevated location where the bundles are placed onto the pallet while the previous pallet with its bundles is being removed from that location.